Editing Incident Command System (section)

{{Short description|Standardized approach to command, control, and coordination of emergency response}}

[[File:ICS Structure.PNG|thumb|ICS basic organization chart (ICS-100 level depicted)]]
The '''Incident Command System''' ('''ICS''') is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of [[emergency response]] providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ics_guide/glossary.htm| publisher=Federal Highway Administration, Office of Operations| title=Glossary: Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System for Transportation Professionals| access-date=24 October 2018| archive-date=7 July 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240707022110/https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ics_guide/glossary.htm| url-status=live}}</ref>

ICS was initially developed to address problems of inter-agency responses to wildfires in California but is now a component of the [[National Incident Management System]] (NIMS)<ref>{{Cite web
 |title=Chapter 7: THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM (ICS) 
 |publisher=Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance 
 |url=http://orgmail2.coe-dmha.org/dr/DisasterResponse.nsf/section/07?opendocument&home=html 
 |access-date=2009-09-23 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423021922/http://orgmail2.coe-dmha.org/dr/DisasterResponse.nsf/section/07?opendocument&home=html 
 |archive-date=23 April 2008 }}
</ref> in the US, where it has evolved into use in all-hazards situations, ranging from [[Active shooter|active shootings]] to [[Dangerous goods|hazmat]] scenes.<ref>{{cite journal
 |last1        = Bigley
 |first1       = Gregory
 |last2        = Roberts
 |first2       = Karlene
 |date         = Dec 2001
 |title        = The Incident Command System: High-Reliability Organizing for Complex and Volatile Task Environments
 |url          = http://ccrm.berkeley.edu/pdfs_papers/Bigley_Roberts_Command_System.pdf
 |journal      = The Academy of Management Journal
 |publisher    = Academy of Management
 |volume       = 44
 |issue        = 6
 |pages        = 1281–1299
 |access-date  = 25 September 2015
|archive-date = 4 March 2016
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235208/http://ccrm.berkeley.edu/pdfs_papers/Bigley_Roberts_Command_System.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}
| enter      = 29 September 1987</ref> In addition, ICS has acted as a pattern for similar approaches internationally.<ref>{{cite journal
| last1       = Dara
| first1      = Saqib
| last2      = Ashton
| first2     = Rendell
| last3      = Farmer
| first3     = Christopher
| last4      = Carlton
| first4     = Paul
| date       = Jan 2005
| title      = Worldwide disaster medical response: An historical perspective
| journal    = Critical Care Medicine
| volume     = 33
| issue      = 1
| pages      = S2–S6
| doi        = 10.1097/01.CCM.0000151062.00501.60
| pmid = 15640674
| s2cid = 32514269
}}
</ref>